"For years I've felt like this country is dumbing down, losing touch with what's important. About a month ago, I thought I had the defining moment. A woman on TV was shown a picture of the U.S. secretary of state and - with complete self confidence - she identified her as 'Mona Lisa Rice.'"
Rob Borsellino, Des Moines Register, referring to the misidentification of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Source: www.oregonlive.com
That first step is a doozy
LONDON - A teenage sleepwalker was rescued after being found fast asleep 130 feet up on the arm of a crane, police said.
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Emergency services were called to a building site in London after a passer-by spotted the 15-year-old girl curled up on top of a concrete counterweight high above the ground.
The teenager, who has not been named, had climbed up the crane and walked across a narrow metal beam while fast asleep during the incident, which happened on June 25.
It is believed the teenager had walked out unnoticed from her home near the site in Dulwich, southeast London.
She was brought down in a hydraulic lift after a two-hour rescue operation.
"Police and London Fire Brigade attended and the woman was brought down from the crane at around 4 a.m. and taken to hospital for precautionary checks," a police spokeswoman said.
The girl was unharmed and later went home.
Source: www.cnn.com
Probably the worst possible Monday
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A Taiwan stock trader mistakenly bought $251 million worth of shares with a misstroke of her computer keyboard, meaning her company is looking at a paper loss of more than $12 million and she is looking for a new job.
The trader with Fubon Securities miskeyed in a small order from Merrill Lynch on July 4, creating confusion when many small companies inexplicably surged past the 7 percent trading limit.
"Something like this is difficult to explain to superiors," a Fubon executive said Tuesday.
The executive said that the trader was unfamiliar with new computer systems and will be fired. The company will also examine its procedures of placing orders, it said.
"There is a paper loss of more than $400 million (in Taiwan dollars)," the executive said.
"However, with a good outlook for stocks in the second half, there are no plans to sell the shares in the near term."
Source: news.com.com
To contact The Rail, send an e-mail to features reporter Tom Pantera at tpantera@forumcomm.com and he'll forward it to the writers.
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Today's best bet
Summer Cinema 2005, "Sinbad the Sailor" (1947), an adventure featuring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Maureen O'Hara, 7:30 p.m., Glasrud Auditorium Weld Hall, MSUM, Moorhead.
